NFL Expansion Concepts: 40 by '34 [Project Summaries & NFL Map/TV Schedule Posted]

[wildwing64]

"Geoffrey Guard" got a chuckle out of me If either of your London teams are doing a Monarchs throwback then this one does makes more sense, even if the original team was blue.

 

The new Archers logo is excellent.

[BengalErnst]

On 8/11/2023 at 4:43 PM, Wildcomet said:

Here's my second pass with St. Louis after a solid day of tinkering and drawing. I leaned away from the arch-centered logo but did manage to sneak it into the new main logo, featuring a Green Arrow inspired archer figure holding an arrow in the bow.  This time I decided to embrace the influence of both the AAF Orlando Apollos and AFL Los Angeles Avengers logos, which are some of my favorites, but I did also purposely do some things differently to (at least try to) make it my own.  Originally I avoided this direction in part out of concern I would make something too much like those. While probably less creative, I think it's better, especially as a football logo. The bow here is a repurposed and modified version of the arch I did in the first version I shared.

 

On the helmet, I used the new logo with a gold outline around it to help it stand out more, and with that I felt a gold facemask was a better fit than the navy blue one. I also changed the number font on the jerseys so its less squatty, and changed the pants to feature the arch, with the same three-stripe pattern from the sleeves running vertically underneath it (with changes to account for the different pants color). I also added a gold stripe in the collar to help it pop just a bit more and get that color into the uniform.

 

 

Thanks again to those who offered advice on this one, generally I think this brand is much improved now. C&C will of course still be appreciated. Hope you all like!

This one is awesome. My fave now. 

[Wildcomet]

I appreciate the C&C for the last couple posts! Now it's time to start the next batch of new teams, what would be the NFL's 3rd international team, the Mexico City Serpents.

 

The team's name references the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent. The primary and helmet logos are based on figures of Quetzalcoatl found at archaeological sites, as well as the font style. Being the first team in a place where English is not the primary language, I wanted to make sure to give them a Spanish wordmark alongside the English one (I don't speak Spanish well, so please forgive if the translation is not perfect. I did my best). This one was fun to make, as I've never really worked with this art style before, and translating the depiction into a logo was an interesting task. I had some concerns about referencing a native culture for the concept, but after researching some of the teams that exist in Mexico City it appears multiple local teams use(d) this type of imagery, so locally it doesn't seem to be an issue from what I can tell.

 

The swirl-block pattern in the logo is found throughout the uniforms on the sleeves, pants and the helmet center-stripe, and a modified version is in the font also (thinned out so that it doesn't interfere with reading the numbers/letters). I decided to give this team the 'white-out' color rush uniform and white helmet thinking that- being so close to the equator- all white uniforms would be preferred. While the team has an official home uniform, I see them using either their color rush or away uniforms at home due to the heat like the Cowboys. Since the pattern I used was rather intricate compared to the usual striping on uniforms I kept the design pretty clean otherwise so it wouldn't appear cluttered. 

 

[Wildcomet]

Still feel free to share any comments on Serpents concept, but I am going to put out the next TWO concepts I have to share today.

 

First, are alternate uniforms for the London Lancers. It occurred to me that if the Guards are going to latch onto the Monarchs for an alternate uniform look, that the other London team may wish to do something similar, and while there was only one London NFL Europe Team, the Lancers could choose to embrace the UK's other team, the Scottish Claymores. The imagery and colors for them work out as a pretty close fit to the Lancers, same as the Monarchs did for the Guards, so it's a pretty straightforward adaptation of the Claymores' NFL Europe uniforms in the Lancers colors.

 

 

Next is the 6th expansion team, the Portland Cascades!

 

I'll admit I sort of recycled and modified a logo I created for another project (the thread for the International Challenge Hockey League is where you can see the original I produced for that project) for this team, but I felt it fit really well here with some color/design changes. The brand as a whole is inspired by the Cascade Mountains and the forest/wildlife found within.  I focused particularly on the Elk imagery for the helmet and secondary logos and wordmarks with the antlers being featured throughout.

 

The antler graphic also features on the jersey sleeves. I gave the collars a pine needle style pattern over the dark brown base. I tried it in green but it was too hard to see, so I went with the tan color. The home was originally going to have the dark brown pants, but I changed it in part to break up the pattern that had been pointed out about giving teams dark home pants.  the multi-colored blocks along the sides of the jerseys and pants were inspired by the change in seasons in the region and give them a look I had not used yet.

 

 

Hope you all enjoy. Barring any revisions to the teams I've already shared, I have two teams left to complete the project. There will also be some sheets showing all the logos, helmets, etc. together to see at the end.

[Wildcomet]

Let's go ahead and share the next one, but still feel free to share any thoughts on the last couple concepts that were put out.

 

Let's meet the San Antonio Armadillos! I've always thought that an armadillo makes for an excellent football team mascot given its armor, and from what I read they are native to the San Antonio area and it gives some nice alliteration. The colors were inspired by the Spurs, including some of their City Connect uniforms. Including the teal and orange also helps differentiate them from the Raiders. The logos are a full body armadillo for the main logo, and an armored football for the secondary logo. The wordmark again incorporates the armadillo armor into the design, and the letters are raised at different heights to match the outline of the Alamo.

 

The helmet sports the main logo along with a black and orange stripes down the center. The stripes on the sleeves, socks and pants are inspired by the pattern of the armor in the logo. Silver gives the team a unique color for their primary home jersey in the NFL, while their color rush de-emphasizes the black and silver to  make what would be one of the league's brighter alternate sets.  The jerseys also all feature the main logo under the collar.

 

 

Hope everyone likes, but any C&C is very much appreciated. The next and final team in this series will be the team in Salt Lake City. Thanks for checking this out!

[WillLanigan]

Just found this entire thread, but better late than never!  For SA, while I like the Alamo outline in theory, I don’t think it really works that well for the shape of the wordmark.  Perhaps use the Alamo for an alt logo?  Or even add it behind the armadillo on the primary?  

[Wildcomet]

On 8/19/2023 at 11:31 PM, Yee Yee Go 'Stros! said:

Just found this entire thread, but better late than never!  For SA, while I like the Alamo outline in theory, I don’t think it really works that well for the shape of the wordmark.  Perhaps use the Alamo for an alt logo?  Or even add it behind the armadillo on the primary?  

 

Thanks for the feedback! I did decide to rework the wordmark; the alamo is still referenced in there but much more subtly. I switched from the Alamo shape to a more traditional arc along the top, and removed the armadillo shell. After that I added in orange/teal outlines around the letters, with the divide between the outline colors being based on that Alamo outline. Admittedly its hard to see that shape since the letters are broken up, but I'm thinking of it as an easter egg. I also while I was at it made an additional secondary SA monogram logo.

 

[Wildcomet]

Alright, let's take a look at the NFL's future 40th franchise, calling Salt Lake City home- the Utah Raptors!

 

The name inspiration here is pretty self-evident; the colors came from desert sunsets, while the off-white Sea Salt color inspired by the Great Salt Lake. This gives the league a unique look among the 40 teams. The U logo has a notch in it to hint at the state shape, while the Claw Map logo is more explicit in the reference. The main logo is inspired by various renderings of what Utahraptors are thought to have looked like.

 

The helmet features the main logo on both sides, with mirrored orange outlined sea salt claw marks on both sides of the front of the helmet. Those claw marks also make an appearance on the sleeves and pant legs, along with sublimated dinosaur scales on the upper part of the jerseys fading into the base jersey colors. The Raptors get the honor of being the first team to be approved for a non-white away jersey, as they instead go with the technically not-white sea salt color for road games. 

 

 

I'll wait a few days for any C&C that could lead to any logo or uniform revisions, then officially wrap this up if there isn't anything. Any thoughts anyone wants to share will be appreciated, thanks for checking out my work!

[Wildcomet]

Well it looks like this thread is good to go, so I'm going to post some graphic sheets to see all the similar works in one place to wrap this up. There will be a post after this with my 2034 League Map and a mock game schedule to see how these teams look among the rest of the NFL.  Thanks to all those who checked this out and gave likes or C&C, I appreciate it!

 

[Wildcomet]

Here's a league map for how the league would look with these teams added:

 

...and here's my mock 2034 Thursday Night Football broadcast schedule:

 

Thanks again for taking the time to look at my work, I hope those who did enjoyed it!

[maxwasson]

29 minutes ago, Wildcomet said:

Here's a league map for how the league would look with these teams added:

 

...and here's my mock 2034 Thursday Night Football broadcast schedule:

 

Thanks again for taking the time to look at my work, I hope those who did enjoyed it!

 

Very nice mockup TNF schedule, I wonder if whoever made those mock scorebugs on that other thread can do something with these expansion logos. 

[Alek21]

This is just incredible! I hope you get in touch with the NFL if they do decide to expand. All 8 teams are done extremely well and some of the graphic design you did is just unbelievable. Well done Wildcomet!!! 

 

I really hope to see 40 teams in the NFL someday that would draw in more fans and make the NFL that much better. Again, great job and please continue to do great work. It's obviously a passion of yours and it shows!

[mrdrmkr]

I know the NFL has announced a four-team expansion. First of all, I hate that London would get two teams. How about another European team? Also, the CFL is not long for this earth, they should leave expansion to Canada as a possibility. Second of all, Chicago Blues? Exactly wrong. St. Louis has a Blues team in the NHL and there is just as much history of Blues music there. Why not get permission from the NHL and make the NFL team the St. Louis Blues? As for Chicago. Well, there is an MLS team named the Chicago Fire. What better name for a new Chicago franchise? Portland? Come on, Portland? San Diego, San Antonio, Austin, San Jose, Columbus, Oklahoma City, and El Paso have larger metro areas than Portland and a better sports fan base.  Just my two cents worth.